Zina Young Card, 1850-1931.
Trekking 800 miles by covered wagon from Utah, Zina Young Card arrived in southern Alberta in the summer of 1887 and set about helping her husband, Charles Ora Card, founder of the first Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints settlement in the province.
The Cards brought 10 families with them, and the settlement was named Cardston. Zina Card, a daughter of Brigham Young, helped guide and support the new community. Besides raising her family and carrying out religious duties, she used money from her father's estate to fund many early Cardston projects: church buildings, a two-storey high school, and a cheese factory among others.
Aunt Zina, as she was called, was loved for her benevolent spirit and for her warm and motherly nature. Her log home, dubbed the 'Cotton Flannel Palace' by Charles because she had lined its walls with richly coloured flannel, was known for a hospitality that extended beyond the community to aboriginals, police and government officials, and neighbouring families.
Excerpted from 200 Remarkable Alberta Women by Kay Sanderson with permission from the Famous Five Foundation.
The CKUA Heritage Trails:
To listen to the Heritage Trails , you need the RealPlayer, available free from RealNetworks:
- Heritage Trail: Cardston - Learn about the history of some of the first Mormon settlers in Alberta who settled in what is now Cardston.
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See also:
We also recommend these off-site resources:
- The Diaries of Charles Ora Card: The Canadian Years, 1886-1903
This article is a book review by A. A. Den Ott, previously published in Canadian Historical Review - Volume 76, Number 2 June 1995. - Pioneer Latter Day Saints Settlements in Canada, by Howard Palmer
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